Encountering Family Ties
by Victoria Relentless
Summary: In the final episode of Pirates of the Atlantic, Nora finds an old letter that leads Captain Cardinal and his crew on a special scavenger hunt where they cross paths with old friends (some unwanted) and meet one of their most formidable foes yet.
1. Nora's Supply Run

_This is the last story Kaitlyn and I wrote in our Pirates of the Atlantic series._

**The Cast**

Captain Jake Cardinal of the _Scarlett Ruby_, based on William Turner and Captain Jack Sparrow ~ played by Alvin

Becky Cardinal, based on Elizabeth Swann ~ played by Brittany

Matthew Mimosa, based on Hector Barbossa ~ played by Simon, third mate of the _Scarlett Ruby_

Captain Dave Senoj of the_ Swimming Frenchman, _based on Davy Jones~ played by Dave

Captain Ethan Murdock of the_ Dark Revenge_ ~ played by Uncle Harry

Sam Muggins ~ played by Theodore, galley cook

Allison Mimosa~ played by Jeanette; seamstress, cook, nurse, and nanny

Nora~ played by Eleanor, second mate of the _Scarlett Ruby_

Scully, based on Joshamee Gibbs~ first mate of the _Scarlett Ruby_

Charlotte, based on Bootstrap and very loosely Tia Dalma~ played by Vinny

Jack, based on Jack the monkey~ my OC Rodney

Thad Coldsteel~ quartermaster who controls the treasury

Cutthroat Pitzel, based on Pintel~ played by Kaitlyn's OC Arnie, the helmsman

Ketchum Kert Spaghetti, based on Ragetti~ played by my OC Roger, master gunner

Wally Nipperkin~ played by Kaitlyn's OC Walter, carpenter

January Jones~ navigator

Joshua Godspeed~ the reverend

Slick Blackwell~ the doctor

**Pirates of the Atlantic Episode 4: Encountering Family Ties  
**

Chapter 1: Nora's Supply Run

"Friedrich, while you're here visiting, do you think you could go through your father's desk drawers and organize them for him? He hasn't had the time to take care of it."

"Of course, Mother. Hopefully it won't take me more than the afternoon; then again, who knows the last time he sorted it out," Friedrich wondered aloud.

He went into his father's study and began to pull out all of the papers and documents from one of the drawers of the desk. "There are even ones stuck behind the drawers!" he sighed. With a struggle, Friedrich pulled the drawer out all the way and picked up all of the papers that were stuck behind it. "Why in the world would he keep a receipt for kindling from fifteen years ago? Wait a minute, what's this?" He uncrumpled a piece of paper pinned to an envelope. At first he skimmed over the writing on the paper, but once he realized what it was, he read it carefully and examined the unopened envelope. Friedrich put the paper and envelope into his inside coat pocket and thought, _"I have to find her and give this to her! It could mend our relationship!"_ He jogged over to his mother who was on her balcony looking out onto the Loire River.

"Mother, I hate to tell you this, but I just remembered an engagement that I have in England. I must leave tomorrow morning in order to get there on time. I am so sorry to have to leave after only being here two days."

"Oh, that is such a pity, Friedrich! I hope it isn't anything terribly serious."

"Don't worry, Mother, it isn't serious. It is just important business."

xxxxxxxxxx

It had been four months since the search for the Grecian treasure room had ended. Becky had stayed on Jakeston for the last two months of her pregnancy, but when she was ready to deliver, she went onto the Scarlett Ruby so that her child could be born on the ocean. Jake and Becky welcomed into the world a healthy baby boy whom they named Christopher Jake Cardinal. Little Christopher was two months old now, and Becky still hadn't left the island on any excursions.

Matthew and Allison had quickly settled into married life. When Allison did not have to be at sea she helped out at Trixie Pitzel 's dress shop. There were days when Dr. Blackwell needed help in a delivery or surgery, and Allison proved to be a reliable nurse. She even served as a nanny to little Christopher when Becky needed a break.

Nora had been gone a whole month with a smaller ship on a supply run for Jakeston, and she finally was coming home. The last place she had docked was Portsmouth, England. However, before she left for home, she had one more errand left to run.

"You boys go on back to the ship without me. I'll be back before departure time." Nora jogged along the docks yet ran the opposite way from her ship. She ran until she reached the front of an average-looking house. Rather than using the large iron knocker, Nora rapped upon the door with her fist.

"Yes, how may I—oh!" the maid who answered the door stopped and smiled. "What a pleasant surprise, Nora! He'll be so glad to see you! The poor thing has been rather grumpy these past few days, so a visit from you should cheer him right up. He's in his study."

"Thanks so much, Alice. And you know that old man is always grouchy, even if I'm here. I can't stay too long, 'cause my ship's waitin'." She walked into the study without knocking.

The old man turned his head and got up when he saw her. "Nora!" he exclaimed and hugged her. "It 'as been far too long since I got a visit from ya."

"Hi, Mr. Witherman! I know, but at least I'm 'ere now. Tell me, what has been going on around here lately?"

"Actually, there is somebody in town who would like to see ya."

"What? Who is it?" Nora asked cautiously.

"Fritz. He's at the Dankworth Family Inn not too far from 'ere."

"No, uh-uh! There is no way I'm seein' 'im!" Nora crossed her arms.

"Don't be that way, Nora. He said that 'e had sumthin he wanted to give ya. He mentioned that it was urgent that you 'ave it."

"You _really_ think I can trust 'im?"

"I do, yes. Go see 'im, now, Nora."

After a long sigh, Nora gave up. "Fine. I'll go see 'im. But if it goes awry, expect me to be coming back 'ere."

"Sumthin tells me you will be coming back to talk to me whether it goes wrong or not," Mr. Witherman muttered as Nora walked out of the room.

Nora went to the Dankworth Family Inn and found out what room Fritz was staying in. She summed up enough courage and knocked on his door. It opened, and…

"Nora! Y-you're here! I didn't think you would ever come!" Fritz was going to hug her, but her face told him that she was not in the mood for such a thing. "You look well, except for that bottom lip of yours. How did it—no, I don't want to know."

"Witherman told me that you 'ad sumthin to give me. This had better not be some sort'a trick you orchestrated to get me caught."

"You're my little sister, Nora! Why would I ever do something like that to you? Just because I'm in the British army doesn't mean I am out to get you. And yes, I do have something to give you. I found it behind a drawer in Father's desk." He pulled out the paper and envelope. "I thought you should take a look at it. I have a feeling that whatever is in the envelope will explain more about things."

Nora took it from Fritz and looked it over. Her eyes widened as she read the paper. She analyzed the envelope. It had the name Jake scrolled on it. "Fritz, you 'ave no idea how important this is! Th-thank you so much!" She gave him a quick hug and was about to leave.

"You're welcome. Nora, don't leave yet, please! It's been five years since you ran away. Can you at least tell me what you have been doing these years?"

Painfully, Nora turned around and sat down in the chair near the door. "I found him, Fritz. I found Jake."

"You mean our illegitimate cousin, the one who that envelope is addressed to? How did you find him?!"

"Yes, him, the reason I ran away in the first place. He's pirate Captain Jake Cardinal. I 'eared about him while I was at an inn, so I went down to 'is ship and made sure I was right in thinkin' it was 'im. He looks like he's related to us, and he grew up an orphan in England. I joined his crew, and I became his second mate."

"His second mate? Goodness, Nora, such a high position for a female!"

"Yeah," she said proudly, "I made sure I got a good job. He really had no choice but to make me his second mate. How are your kids and wife?"

"They're quite well, actually. They still love the Christmas gifts you sent."

"How'd you know I sent it to 'em?"

"You were the only one I thought of who would mysteriously send them wooden swords and boots. Cynthia wasn't too pleased about them, but she cannot bear to take them away and disappoint them."

"Heh, I figured she wouldn't approve. That's why I sent 'em," she smirked. "Look, Fritz, I've got to go. My ship is waitin' for me, and I want to get this letter and envelope to Jake as soon as possible."

"Well, I will be staying here at the inn for a few weeks until my ship home arrives. So, please, at least come visit me and explain what you find out. I want to know about our cousin as much as you do."

"Maybe I will, if I can. Goodbye, Fritz."

"Farewell, Nora. It was so good seeing you." Fritz gave her another hug.

Nora quickly left the inn and ran back to Mr. Witherman's house. She ranted all of her pent-up feelings about her old life and about getting this new information from her brother. Witherman quietly listened and then gave his advice. He told her to give the envelope and letter to Jake and let him decide what to do with it. Nora felt much better after talking to Witherman. She hugged him goodbye and briskly went back to the ship.

"BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!" the large church bell rang out, informing everybody on Jakeston that a ship had returned.

"Well, Nora's back! I'm going down to see how everything went!" Jake called behind as he walked out the front door.

"Goodbye, honey! Say 'Hi!' to Nora for me! Wave good bye, Christopher!" Becky picked up his hand and showed him how. He simply cooed happily.

Sam Muggins was already on the dock waiting for the ship to arrive before anyone even noticed it in the distance. He and Nora had been spending almost every lunch together the three months after the Greek treasure hunt, and Sam had missed her company the month she was gone. He helped unload the smaller things off the ship as soon as it was tied to the dock.

Nora carried her belongings over to Sam as soon as she saw him. "Boy, am I glad to finally see you again."

"Welcome back," he struggled as he set a heavy box on the ground. "How are you?"

"Not too good, actually, but it's nothin' really. I'll get over it. I 'ave sumthin for ya," she forced a smile and tried to change the subject.

Able to tell that something really was bothering her but she didn't want to talk about it, Muggins played along. "Ooh, really? What is it?"

"Well, you'll have to open it to find out!" She pulled a parcel out of her stack of belongings. "Here ya go."

He opened it, and inside was a leather weapons holster.

"I noticed all you had to carry your weapons was that measly rope strap holdin' up your cutlass. But with this, you can carry up to four different weapons, including a cutlass, knife, and pistol. I had them stitch your name into it so nobody would try to nab it from ya."

"Thank you, Nora! It's just wonderful! And it was so nice of you to think of me!"

Smiling gleefully, she said, "Glad you enjoy it so much!" Muggins was about to say something else, but Nora caught a glimpse of Captain Cardinal coming up to the ship. "Oh, sorry Sam, the cap'n's here, and I've got to talk with 'im." She quickly picked up her belongings and met up with her captain.

"Did you find everything you needed to get?" Jake asked after exchanging greetings.

"Yes, and even more than that. I picked up some very important information."

"It seems like every time I send you or Scully out to do things, you come back with something extra. What is it this time?"

"It concerns your mum, Cap'n," Nora said urgently.


	2. The Letters

**Chapter 2: The Letters**

Jake and Nora went to the nearest private place to talk: the office on the Scarlett Ruby. Nora gave Jake the paper and the envelope and explained that her brother gave it to her while she was in England. He read the paper first:

_Dear Winnie,_

_I truly regret having to do this to you, but I have been left with no other choice. I need to leave Jake in your care so that I may go rescue his father before it is too late. As soon as I get him, we will come back for Jake. However, if neither of us do make it back alive, please make sure that our son is well-taken care of. And make sure that this envelope __always__ stays with him. It is crucial that he does not lose any of what is inside it._

_With a heavy heart,_

_Charlotte_

Jake looked at Nora after he finished reading it. "Who is Winnie? How did I not end up living with her?"

"Winnie is mah mum," Nora responded quietly. "I 'ave no idea why she didn't take care of you. Maybe whatever is in that envelope will tell you more."

"You're right. I should open it now." He carefully opened it and pulled out its contents. It included a letter and a paper with short phrases and dashes. Jake read this letter gravely while Nora shuffled her feet nervously for him to finish:

_My dear, sweet son Jake,_

_If I do not get the chance to tell you this every day while you are growing up, I will tell you now. I have loved you dearly ever since the day you were born. Your father loves you so very much as well. You are the only ray of light in our dark world. We want the best for you, which is why I had to leave you with your Aunt Winnie. Your father and I are in danger because of the lifestyle we both decided to live; we are pirates._

_It all began when I was on my very first pirate crew. Women are forbidden to be hired aboard a pirate ship; therefore, I posed as a man in order to get aboard. It went well for a few weeks, but then I was found out by Jake- your father- and the second mate. I begged them to keep it secret, and they promised they would. Your father, however, began treating me differently than before: he was more polite, he would do some of my duties for me, he left me letters hidden in my hammock, and he would give me things. One time when I had wanted to borrow somebody's telescope, he immediately ran up to me and said that I could have his spyglass. It is one of my most treasured items, and I hope that one day you will be able to own it. While we were fighting off an enemy pirate crew, my disguise was compromised, and our captain found out that I was a woman. He kicked Jake and me off his ship and made sure that no pirate ship would ever take us again._

_We chose to try making it on our own as a pirating team; they called us the Commandeering Cardinals. We were infamous all over Europe and even into the New World. After we were on our own for a while, we wanted to get married. Everyone we went to refused to marry us; captains couldn't because they were banned from helping us, and pastors refused to marry pirates. Jake and I decided to make our own vows to each other and wrote our own marriage contract. As wedding gifts to each other, I gave your father a silver pocket watch from Germany, and he gave me an opal ring. Then we found a secret place where we could live and hide out if we needed to. We continued our life together stealing from pirates, and soon you were ready to come into this world._

_When you were born, your father and I were running from somebody we had stolen from. He was furious with us, and he vowed to kill us. Luckily, he never found out about you. We were able to run from him for two months, but now he has captured your father. I was going to go after your father, but first I had to hide my most prized possessions and the thing that we had stolen. You became ill just as I began going after your father. That is why I had to go to your Aunt Winnie. She helped me get you the care you needed, but you are too young to be taken on such a dangerous journey. I am truly sorry that I have to leave you, Jake. I promise that I will try to come back for you as soon as I get your father back. If I cannot come back, I pray that you have a most blessed and safe life. _

_With much love,_

_Your mother Charlotte_

Tears were starting to trickle down Jake's cheeks as he gingerly refolded the letter. He cleared his throat and breathed deeply. "Nora, I need you to assemble my coterie and have them meet me at my house in ten minutes. I'll explain everything there." He walked abruptly away to clear his head.

Jake's coterie consisted of Scully, Nora, Mimosa, and Becky. He shared all of his information with them and trusted them with his secrets. If he ever needed an important decision made, he would call upon them to help.

Nora rounded up Scully and Mimosa, who all met up with a startled Becky in her kitchen. Jake walked in a minute later and calmly gave Becky the two letters to read first. After she finished reading them, she ran to Jake's side. Scully picked up the letters and read them, with Nora reading over his shoulder. Mimosa examined them while Becky shared her reactions.

"Oh, Jake! I can't believe all of this has finally come up! I thought that you were never going to find out anything about your parents. How are you? And how'd you find this?"

"I'm fine," Jake lied. "I'll tell you more once everybody has read the letters."

Mimosa finally finished reading the second letter and gave them back to Jake. He took off his spectacles and rubbed his eyes. "Please," he put his glasses back on, "inform us as to what we should do with this new information about your parents."

Jake motioned for Becky to sit back down in her seat. "I need to find out what happened to my parents after my mother wrote this letter. I think that my aunt and uncle, or Nora's parents, should be able to fill in the blanks. But before we really make a decision, Nora, I think it's about time I asked you about your past."

"But I hardly know anything about your mum or anything. My life ain't gonna tell you any—"

"You have been around here for three years," Jake cut her off, "and I have hardly ever asked anything about your family, who is apparently also my family. Since you don't know anything about my past, we're going to have to make a trip to your parents, and I want to get an idea of what kind of people could somehow leave me behind."

"Do I 'ave to tell ev'rything?" Nora resisted.

"Yes, you do."

Everybody turned expectedly towards Nora, who was fidgeting in her chair. She sighed and began to tell her story: "First, I'll tell you who my fam'ly even is. There's mah dad, mum, and older brother with 'is fam'ly; that's all I've ever known, 'til I found Jake, that is. Mah dad is Alphonse, a French banker; mah mum is Winnie, an English baroness; Friedrich—well, Fritz is what I call 'im— anyway, he's been in the British army since he was eighteen. He's got a wife 'n' two children. My family lived in France, but when I was born they moved to Portsmouth, England.

"When I was fourteen, I met this old seaman named Witherman. He sort'a took me undah his wing and secretly taught me fencing and hand-to-hand combat. He taught me everything I knew before I joined Jake's crew. I was able to keep my hobby silent for a couple a years, but one day Fritz caught me practicin' with Witherman. He brought me home, and he told our parents. They made me go to a refinery school, and mah mum kept me busy by forcin' me to go to functions and parties. I was furious with Fritz for ruinin' things for me, but I got over it. I kept a sword hidden in my room and I practiced at night after everybody was asleep.

"When I was eighteen, I found papers in mah dad's desk. They were doctor's bills for a 'baby Jake.' I asked mah parents about it, and they said that they were for my 'illegitimate cousin.' They refused to say anything more about it, no matter how hard I prodded. I was so irritated by how they tried to make me into a lady and how they were keepin' secrets, so I vowed to become a pirate and ran away. Fritz found me and brought me back, and mah parents locked me in mah room. Ever since then, I've held a grudge against mah brother for all he did ta me, so I claimed he was dead. I took mah sword and the paper I had found, and I escaped out the window. I hid betta that time, and I looked for a pirate ship to join. A year passed of me tryin' to get on a decent ship, but then I 'eard about Jake in a bar and went to go find 'im. You know the rest of that story. My parents moved to Nantes, France that same year. That's all I know."

Everybody's brains were a little overwhelmed by information, causing them to sit in silence for a few moments.

Jake snapped out of it first, and he turned his attention back to the rest of his coterie. "Well, how soon do you think I should go to France?"

"We should be able to prepare the Ruby for travel by tomorrow if we hurry," Scully figured.

"There is no 'I' in this, Jake," Becky spoke up. "We are all here for you and are going with you."

"You can't come, Becky. Christopher is still too young for you to leave him, and he's too young to go aboard a ship."

"But Jake, I need to be there for you. Can't I just take Christopher this one time? It's not like this is going to be a very long or dangerous trip. Please, Jake. I don't want to be away from you through this. I promise, if there is any trouble, I'll sail off in a rowboat with him. Just let me bring him along."

Apprehensively, Jake looked at Scully. He was subtly nodding his head yes. "Alright, Becky. You and he may come. I definitely want Dr. Blackwell to come along, just in case Christopher gets ill on the trip."

"Don't worry, it'll all be fine. Well, if we are really leaving tomorrow, I need to go get my and Christopher's things together."

"Captain, what should we do about a cook?" Mimosa inquired. "Pugwash is still ill from his undercooked fish."

"Ooh, I forgot about that. Anyone have any suggestions?"

"Muggins's cooking is pretty good," Nora voiced. "But I don't know if he can manage to cook for the entire crew on his own."

Mimosa offered, "Allison could come along too. They did pretty well together when they cooked for us while we were in Greece."

"Alright, Allison and Muggins will be our chefs," Jake decided.

Becky grinned and remarked to Mimosa, "You just want an excuse to bring your wife along."

Flashing a slight smile back, he replied, "And what if I do?"


	3. Awkward Homecoming

**Chapter 3: Awkward Homecoming**

The next afternoon, the Scarlett Ruby headed her course to Nantes, France. The air was a little thick that midday. Perhaps it was just humidity, or perhaps it was the feeling of uncertainty that loomed over the heads of the captain and the second mate.

Becky stood two feet from the railing of the ship and held Christopher into the wind. He started giggling as the sea breeze tickled his nose and tousled his hair. Jack was sitting at Becky's feet, looking up adoringly at Christopher and wagging his tail.

Once things had calmed down on deck, Nora climbed up the ratlines and sat on one of her favorite look-out points: on the yard of the top main mast. She vacantly gazed out at the vast Atlantic and watched the rolling waves.

"Permission to come aboard?" a meek voice requested after Nora had been there a half hour.

She looked over and saw that it was Muggins. "Granted," she half smiled.

Muggins reached up for one of the ratlines, and after a few slips, he managed to hoist himself to the top and sat down next to Nora, being careful not to look directly down. Once he caught his breath and gave Nora another moment with her thoughts, he decided she needed a distraction.

"How did you like lunch?"

She turned to stare at him. "Huh? Oh, it tasted great. Much better than Pugwash ever cooked."

"Really? Gee, thanks!"

"The cap'n liked it too. I think he's considering making that your permanent position."

"I'd love that! Cooking is much more fun than some of the pirate chores I've done. Oh, uh, no offense."

"None taken, if you don't mind me saying you're better at cookin' than you are piratin'. You're better than when you were with Mimosa at least."

He grinned. "I don't mind." After another moment, he said what he had initially wanted to talk to Nora about. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you since you've been back. I'm sure it took a lot for you to tell us about your past like you did."

"Yeah, it did. But the humiliation ain't ovah yet. Now I've got to go face mah parents. I mean, the last time they saw me, I was so mad at them. So, do you think any different of me knowing that I'm a half-blooded Englishwoman?"

"No," Muggins shook his head, "you are you because of what's inside, not because of where your parents are from."

Nora blushed and softly smiled. "Thanks, Sam. That means a lot to 'ear yah say."

"You're welcome," he blushed back. "I hope you're going to be okay. And, please, don't close your feelings off from everybody who cares."

"Don't worry, Sam, I would nevah do that to you. Why don't we go back down on deck now?"

Neither of them made motions to get down from their perch. They just continued to sit there.

"Nora, what would you call our relationship?"

"Well, I nevah really thought o' that. I suppose since for three months we've been spending a great deal of time together talkin' and doin' things together, I s'pose we're courtin' or sumthin like that."

"That's what I was hoping you'd say."

"I should get back to mah duties now," she smiled coquettishly, gave Sam a quick peck on the cheek, and began climbing down the yard.

The Scarlett Ruby arrived at the shore of France a week later. As usual, Thad Coldsteel was left in charge. Jake and his coterie, now including Christopher and temporarily Muggins since he was needed to help carry their baggage, took a carriage to Nantes. It took the entire day to get to the edge of the city. They stayed the night at an inn and finished traveling the next morning. Because they were going into a busy city and Nora had warned that her parents had high tastes, everybody was wearing their least-suspicious clothing.

"There it is: mah parent's house," Nora pointed out the large chateau.

"Wow," Becky looked it over in amazement, "it is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be."

"Well, 'ere goes nothin'." Nora boldly walked up to the door and used the large door knocker.

A footman answered the door. "Are you expected guests?"

"No, but this is my parents' 'ome."

The footman pulled a pair of spectacles out of his jacket pocket and put them on. "Ah, I see that now! Please, please come in with…you and your…guests. I'll go get them right away!" He awkwardly ushered them into the parlor and skittered off.

"That wasn't uncomfortable in the _least_," Becky muttered to Christopher, who she was carrying on her hip.

After a few more minutes of seemingly endless waiting, a man and woman entered the room.

They stopped halfway when they laid eyes on Nora, and the woman exclaimed, "Why, Leonora Belladonna Aldridge, I thought I was never going to see you again!" She ran over to her daughter and hugged her. "My dear, you've cut off most of your hair, a-and you have scars on your face. Are you in trouble? Who are your…acquaintances here with you?"

"I'm fine, Mum. This is mah captain and some of mah crewmates."

"Your 'captain,' as in, a _pirate_ captain?" Nora's father inquired.

"Aye, Dad. He is Captain _Jake_ Cardinal. I found 'im three years ago."

"Oh dear…" Nora's mother turned pale.

"Winnie, come sit down. I feel we have some explaining we must do." Nora's father led his wife to a chair opposite their guests.

"The only reason I came 'ere was so that Jake could get some answers about 'is parents. Fritz found a letter and an envelope from Jake's mum. You've got no choice but ta tell us ev'rything'," Nora simply addressed.

"Yes, of course. You deserve to know and understand everything," Winnie began after taking a deep breath. "Jake, your mother Charlotte, my sister, became infatuated with the life of pirates at the age of fifteen. She was always watching ships at sea and hoping to be kidnapped by pirates. Our parents were afraid for her well-being, so they tried to arrange her into a marriage when she was twenty-two. She did not want to marry him, so she escaped onto a pirate ship.

"Later, we heard that she and Jake—you father, that is— from her ship had become infamous as the Commandeering Cardinals. Your parents weren't really married, though. Charlotte told me that they had made their own sort of marriage ceremony, but they didn't have anything from a minister to confirm their marriage. I thought she gave that as an excuse so that nobody would think that she had you out of wedlock. The first time I had heard from her since before she ran away was when she came running to me with you in her arms. Well, she said that your father Jake, Sr. had been captured by somebody. She said she was starting to go after him, but you had gotten sick.

"We brought in a doctor and he healed you; you were only around two months old then. However the next morning when we got up, Charlotte had left you behind. That's when she left that note and envelope. Alphonse put them in his office drawer for safe-keeping since you were still so young. I was afraid it would get ruined if I left it out with you all the time. We fully intended upon keeping you until Charlotte returned; we kept you for four months. By that time, I had just recently found out I was expecting Nora, and Friedrich was only five. And then we heard the horrible news…"


	4. More Secrets Uncovered

**Chapter 4: More Secrets Uncovered**

Winnie paused a moment to regain her composure, and then she continued. "Your father and mother had been killed by pirates. The news was too much for me to take. Being that I was expecting a baby and trying to take care of you along with finding out my only sister was murdered, I sank into a deep depression. I stopped caring about everything, and I felt as if I couldn't take care of you along with my own children. Alphonse did what he thought was best. Without my knowing, he arranged for an English orphanage to take you. I was still so depressed up until the moment I held Nora for the first time. It was at that point that I realized what we had done. We moved to England in an attempt to find you, but the orphanage had closed down, and all of the children were sent to several different orphanages around England. I never forgave myself." At this point, tears were trickling down her face and she looked truly penitent.

"We were too ashamed to ever tell the truth about it all," Alphonse spoke up. "That's why we could never manage to tell you, Leonora. Your mother and I were afraid that you and your brother would resent us."

"And yet look at where it got you anyway," Nora choked out. "If ya just would 'a told me tha truth, I prob'ly wouldn't have run off like I did. And you even lied about why you moved to England. You always told us that Mum missed her home country 'nd wanted to move back."

Jake cleared his throat and attempted to speak, "Do you know anything about how…" he cleared his throat a second time, "how they died?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't know," Alphonse replied. "We only heard it from somebody who was passing through France at the time."

Winnie finally was able manage asking, "Is there anything, anything at all, that we can somehow make up for our wrongdoing?"

"If you've told me everything you can about my parents, then, not really," Jake shook his head.

Winnie thought for a moment, and sadly answered, "We never had the opportunity to meet your father. Charlotte was always so full of life, loving whatever adventure she could possibly imagine. She was also a very private person. The little amount of time I saw her after she became a pirate, I had asked her so many questions: like where she had been living or if she had enough money to live on, or who had taken Jake. She never responded to my questions with definite answers. I wish I could tell you more."

"There is one other thing, Winnie," Alphonse reminded her. "But he asked us to keep it a secret. Do you remember that old seaman that you were so fond of when you were younger, Nora?"

"Aye, Mr. Witherman. I still keep in touch with 'im. What about 'im?"

"Well, dear, he wasn't just an ordinary seaman. He was a pirate…on the same ship that Charlotte was first a part of."

Nora's jaw dropped. Even though she had known Witherman for almost half of her life, it never occurred to her that he could have been a pirate. "That makes so much sense now! No wonder he knew all about fightin'! I can't believe that the old man nevah told me!"

"I am so sorry we did not tell you any of this sooner, Nora," Winnie apologized. "Do you all have a place to stay the night? Please, feel free to stay here. Let me get all of you some refreshments or food. What would you like?"

"We would be fine with just some sandwiches and some water," Nora spoke up for everyone. "If you have any root beer, that would be wonderful too."

"I'll go right away!" Winnie rushed off to go get their refreshments.

Jake warned everyone of his plan: "We probably will only be staying tonight, and then tomorrow morning we'll be on our way to England to go talk to this Witherman."

Jake and his coterie experienced an immensely awkward dinner conversation with Nora's parents. They had all realized that nobody except Nora and Jake had been formally introduced. Once the rest of their names were known, things settled down easier. Nora was most often the one talking, trying to mention things that both pirate and upper-class would know about. After dinner, everyone quickly retired to their room in order to avoid any more uncomfortable conversations.

In the morning after breakfast, Jake and his coterie left the Aldridge household. They caught a carriage to the shore and got back to the Scarlett Ruby. Cutthroat Pitzel immediately turned the ship around and put her on course for Portsmouth, England, the city where Witherman lived.

They reached Portsmouth three days later. Again, Nora led the rest of the coterie and Jake to their destination. Alice the maid was surprised to see Nora back again so soon, but she welcomed them all into the house to wait for Mr. Witherman. The atmosphere in this house was far better than that of the Aldridges'. The house was much smaller, and it was decorated more like a ship than a house.

"I 'ad a feeling you would be comin' back to see me soon, Nora. 'Ello, there, ev'ryone. Why, you must be Jake; you look exactly like your father. You've gotta be Red-Eyed Beck, Jake's wife. Nora, you didn't mention that the little scallywag was born."

"His name is Christopher Jake," Becky said with admiration.

"And a fine baby he is. You, sir, are certainly Scully, the first mate." Witherman stopped at Mimosa and looked at him hard. "Not sure who this 'un is though. What's yer name?"

"Matthew Mimosa," he said as he shot Nora an insulted glance.

"Hmm, don't remember much 'bout you. Well, now that names are all out of the way, tell me why you all are 'ere."

"Well, Witherman, you sneaky old man," Nora winked, "we went to see my parents. They told me that you were a _pirate_ on the _same_ ship that Jake's mum was on! Why did you nevah tell me you knew 'er?"

"Ooh," Mr. Witherman exhaled as he sat in his chair. "So you finally found out. I wanted to make sure that you were ready for me to tell you. That, and you nevah asked me. I was tha second mate on the Seagull, and I answered to Cap'n Starky. Jake was a crewmate o' mine, and one day we picked up this man named Charlie. He was fast on 'is feet during fights, so he earned the nickname Quick-Foot Charlie. He acted strangely most of the time: he kept to 'imself, he always insisted on wearin' a hat and 'is voice was odd. Jake and Charlie would butt heads on occasion, but there was one time that they were really at each other's throats. The three of us were down in the hull sneakin' in some root beer. Jake grabbed Charlie's bot'le of root beer because he was claimin' to 'ave the best root beer he's ever tasted. Charlie was fumin' mad and started yellin'. A funny thing happened aftah that: his voice changed. It went immensely feminine. Jake knocked 'is hat off, and a mess o' hair tumbled out. She begged us to keep it a secret from the rest o' the crew. We tried the best we could, but ole Jake couldn't control his new-found affections for the woman.

"A few months later, we were fightin' with Cap'n Cranston Murdock, our cap'n's biggest enemy. Durin' the bat'le, Quick-Foot's hat was knocked off, so she was fightin' people off with nothin' hidin' her identity. Once the bat'le was over, Cap'n Starky kicked 'er off the ship; and Jake protested against it, tryin' to tell the cap'n that she was just as valuable as any man. Cap'n Starky hated when people went against what he said, so he sent 'em both off the ship and blackballed 'em from joining any other ship. I kept mah mouth shut through it all, but I kept in touch with Charlotte as much as I could. Whenever they needed help, I would hide 'em or give 'em stuff. The two o' 'em began takin' up the pastime o' stealin' valuable stuff from pirates. Well, one day they got too cocky and stole from Murdock. They stole a gold Incan llama statue, thought to possess the power to overcome the strongest of yer adversaries. And you, Jake, were actually born while they were runnin' from Murdock. I 'eard that Murdock had somehow taken Jake, but Charlotte was able to escape with you and hide the llama. She told me that she had written some sort'a code to remember where she hid it; never knew what happened to that though."

"I think I might know," Jake pulled out the letter from his mother and showed Witherman the last page. "I wasn't sure what it was at first, but if she hid that llama statue, this might just be the clues of how to find it. Do you think you could help me solve it?"

"I can take a stab at it." Mr. Witherman received the paper and looked it over. "This shouldn't be too hard," he said optimistically. "Quick-Foot Charlie, Jake, and I used to do these little puzzles all the time."


End file.
